Singing Witness

Christians in the US are entering a period of crisis that will lead to martyrdom. Perhaps the martyrdom will be comparatively mild: No pyres or firing squads, but only mockery, slander, ostracism. But it will still be martyrdom, that is, the opportunity - the privilege - to witness faithfully under intense cultural pressure.

How do we prepare?

Not by military exercises or organizing militias. We prepare by learning to use finger-weapons, not hand-weapons, which is to say, by learning to battle with musical instruments. We prepare by training our bodies as musical instruments, by learning to sing lustily, especially by learning to sing God’s songs.

I’ve had the privilege of being a member or pastor of heartily musical congregations for the past two decades. Many of the churches in my little ecclesial world blow the roof off the place every Sunday.

It makes for an overwhelming liturgical experience. More: These churches are communities of martyrs who will sing all the way to the stake, rejoicing that they are worthy to suffer for Jesus’ sake.